Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Brubaker's Deadenders, Collected This Week!

I somehow completely missed this, but Ed Brubaker's Deadenders is being collected in trade paperback and will be reaching stores this week. Brubaker collaborated primarily with penciller and co-creator Warren Pleece on this "mod" sci-fi series, and the two shared the copyright. The series was published by DC's Vertigo imprint in 2000 and 2001 -- after Brubaker's work on Lowlife, Dark Horse Presents, and Scene of the Crime, but debuting prior to his first mainstream work on Batman.

On Twitter, Brubaker writes that he had forgotten that, like the recent arc in Criminal, the series includes a nod or two to Archie Comics, and he writes that this may be readers' "only chance" to read the complete series.

As best as I can tell, the series did present a complete story -- I've had trouble finding all the back issues -- but only the first four issues were previously collected. Nearly 400 pages long, the softcover collects all 16 issues and an additional short story from Vertigo's Winter's Edge holiday special, and the collection retails for just under $30.

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Bullets: Fatale Out Today, Collected Next Month; Two Deluxe Hardcovers This Fall; and More.

News from the world of Brubaker and Phillips, mostly from the former's Twitter and the latter's blog.

Fatale's First Arc, Concluding Today and Collected Next Month. The horror noir's first arc, "Death Chases Me," concludes today with issue #5. Previews are available at The Beat and CBR, the latter of which also features an interview with Ed Brubaker.

The interviewer mentions that today also sees an astounding FIFTH PRINTING of January's debut issue. Brubaker also mentions that this first "book" is a "full story arc," and elsewhere he writes that only a few questions will be answered, but the arc should still have a "satisfying" conclusion, "even if the mystery continues."

The title is designed to have three arcs "which all work as trades," but the CBR interview reveals that the story is continuing to grow beyond the beats that have already been plotted out; the first arc was originally planned to be only four issues.

In a Comics Bulletin story covering an appearance in Hollywood, Brubaker mentions that "The Last of the Innocent" is his favorite creation, V for Vendetta is his favorite comic, and Locke and Key is his favorite series produced today. He mentions the last two works in the CBR interview, as he ran Fatale past Locke and Key creator Joe Hill "to make sure I wasn't committing any amateur mistakes."

Brubaker also summarizes his approach to writing Fatale: "Use the tropes of noir to write a Lovecraft story."

He also mentions that the germ of the story is "a mashup of 'Double Indemnity' and 'Rosemary's Baby.'"

This first arc will be collected in June, probably released on the same day as issue #6, and this second of three planned arcs will transition to the 1970's.

Two Hardcovers in the Fall. We previously announced the deluxe edition for Incognito, and Sean Phillips has made official the upcoming release of a second Criminal hardcover. The oversized edition will include "Bad Night," "The Sinners," "Last of the Innocent," and bonus features.

Incognito: The Classified Edition will be released in September, with an MSRP of $44.99.

Criminal: The Deluxe Edition Vol. 2 will be released in October, with an MSRP of $49.99.

More Posters from Phillips. Sean's blog continues to feature preview art and works-in-progress for Fatale and other projects, but collectors might be interested to know that he's released more posters through his CafePress store: posters for the two covers to the debut issue of Fatale and the striking painting that accompanied the recent essay on the Hawaiian detective, Magnum, P.I.. Capturing one of my mom's favorite actors, the artwork deserves to be seen far and wide:

Possibly Bad News for a Sleeper Film? Finally, in response to a fan's desire for a movie adapting their earliest major collaboration, Brubaker briefly commented, "I want that, too, but it's never going to happen."

I believe the last time we noted any news on the upcoming adaptation was in August, 2008, when the Tom Cruise vehicle was being considered for a movie franchise. IMDB comes up blank about the film: here's hoping that it hasn't fallen into limbo.